This invention relates to a bag closure device which is manually operable to facilitate closing bags made of compliant material, such as the type made of plastic utilized to distribute and store items of food, such as a loaf of bread. More particularly, this invention relates to such a device which is easily used in the home and inexpensive to manufacture.
Many different items are distributed to consumers in bags which are closed by gathering the compliant material thereof which is disposed circumferentially at the neck of the bag opening and retaining the material and closing the bag with a wrapped wire or a plastic clip. As some of the items, like slices of bread, are taken periodically from the bag in the consumer's home it is often desirable to store the remaining items in the same bag for use. To do this, the bag must be regathered at its opening and the wire tie or plastic clip reapplied to retain the gathered material.
Although some very tricky techniques have been developed to reclose such bags, it is a cumbersome task at best and often presents severe problems which frustrate the consumer to such a degree that on occasion, all of the items are taken from the bag and stored in some other type of container. One very common technique is to dangle the bag with one hand while spinning it with the other hand to gather the material at the neck of the bag opening. While the bag is spinning, the wire tie or plastic clip is quickly retained in the spin hand and applied by the other hand about the gathered bag material at the neck. However, this technique is quite a bit more difficult than it sounds because the wire tie is very difficult to manipulate with one hand and the plastic clip often presents a problem when it is retained incorrectly in the spin hand or when the neck becomes too big due to excessive bag spin.
Many devices are known in the prior art for use in closing the open end of a flexible bag. Most of these devices apply pressure along a seam across the open end of the bag, such as with the clothespin like design utilized for the device disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,791. However, such devices are inherently complex in design and consequently, high manufacturing costs are encountered therefor. Another such device is the heavy wire gauge hinge clamp such as that disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,967. Because this clamp requires that the open end of the bag be threaded through the clamp opening prior to clamp activation, it is somewhat cumbersome to utilize. In devices of much greater sophistication and expense, the bag is fused closed with the application of heat or by cold flowing the bag material, as is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,686.